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TREASURY DEPARTMENT 
UNITED STATES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

HUGH S. GUMMING, Surgeon General 



ANTINEURITIC VIT AMINE IN SKIM 
MILK POWDER 



BY 

J. M. JOHNSON 

Chemist 
AND 

C. W. HOOPER 

Pathologic Physiologist 

Division of Pharmacology, Hygienic Laboratory 

United States Public Health Service 



REPRINT No. 689 

FROM THE 

PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTS 

August 26, 1921 
(Pages 2037-2043) 



7 -'^ L 




WASHINGTON 
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 



A"* 



ANTINEURITIC VITAMINE IN SKIM MILK POWDER.' 

By J. M. Johnson, Chemist, and C. W. Hooper, Pathologic Physiologist, Division of Pharmacology, 
Hygienic Laboratory, United States Public Health Service. 

Reconstructed milk has recently come into use in localities where 
an ample suppl}^ of fresh milk is not available. This milk is made 
from skim milk powder, butter fat, and water, mixed in the propor- 
tions necessary to re-form liquid milk. The mixing is carried out 
in a specially designed machine, so that a separation of the butter 
fat takes place only upon long standing. It became necessary to 
decide whether skim milk powder used in making reconstructed mil'c 
retains its water-soluble vitamine (B) content or whether th;s is 
destroyed by the process of drying. We have, therefore, attempttM 
to determine the amount of skim milk powder necessary to prevent 
polyneuritis in pigeons. 

Vedder and Clark ^ found that 5 c. c. daily of fresh cow's milk or 
5 c. c. of canned milk did not prevent polyneuritis in fowls. E. A. 
Cooper ^ fed fresh milk to pigeons and found that 35 c. c. daily only 
delayed the onset of polyneuritis until the fiftieth day. Protection 
was not secured by this amount. Gibson and Concepcion ^ found 
that the minimum protective amount of liquid cow's milk for fowls 
is between 100 and 200 c. c. daily. They concluded that milk con- 
tains such a small amount of antineuritic substance that care should 
be used to extend the diet of infants as early as possi])le. They did 
not find any advantage of raw milk over autoclaved milk in this 
respect. 

EXPERIMENTAL. 

Skim milk powder made by the spray process was used. The pol- 
ished rice was picked over by hand and all incompletely polished 
grains were carefully removed. The rice was then ground in a small 
mill and mixed in varying proportions with the skim milk powder. 
A small amount of water was added to make a sticky dough. This 
was dried out under the electric fan and broken into small pieces. 
The pigeons ate this food very readily. 

The table shows the results obtained from the feeding of rice and 
various percentages of skim milk powder. All of the 6 control 
pigeons fed on 100 per cent rice developed symptoms of polyneuritis and 

1 Reprint from the Public Health Reports, vol. 36, No. 34, Aug. 26, 1921, pp. 2037-2043. 
' Philippine Jour. Sci. VII, B, 423 (1912). 
•Jour. Hyg. XIV, 12(1914). 
'I'hilippine Jour. Sci. XI, B, 119 (1916). 

2 



67777°— 21 



LIS«ARY OP CONGi^ESS 
DOCUMENT* UiViilON 



ANTINEURITIC VITAMINE IN SKIM MILK POWDER. 



3 






died within 48 days. Histological examination of their sciatic nerves 
showed the presence of fatty degeneration. Of 7 pigeons fed on a 
diet composed of 80 per cent rice and 20 per cent skim milk powder, 
5 showed fatty degeneration of the sciatic nerve and 1 showed a 
normal nerve; the seventh bird escaped, but had shown no symp- 
toms of polyneuritis after 139 days. The onset of polyneuritis in 1 
case of the 5 cases was delayed until the one hundred and twenty-eighth 
day. Of 4 pigeons fed on a diet composed of 75 per cent rice and 25 
per cent skim milk powder, 3 showed fatty degeneration of the sciatic 
nerve and 1 a normal nerve. However, the onset of polyneuritis w:as 
delayed in the 3 cases from 57 to 82 days. Of 16 pigeons fed on diets 

CmHTl :- (00^ RicE. 




composed of 30-100 per cent skim milk powder and 70-0 per cent 
rice all showed normal sciatic nerves. However, in 3 cases, symptoms 
of polyneuritis with subsequent recovery were observed. 

An examination of the table will show that in order to secure com- 
plete protection from polyneuritis the skim milk powder must consti- 
tute at least 30 per cent of the diet. A diet containing 25 per cent 
skim milk powder will delay the development of polyneuritis but will 
not protect against it. Even 20 per cent skim milk powder delayed 
the onset in a few cases. The pigeons consumed about 20-25 grams 
daily of the mixture of. skim milk powder and rice. Therefore it 
requires about 6-7 grams daily of skim milk powder to protect from 
polyneuritis. This corresponds to about 75 c. c. of liquid milk. 



ANTINEURITIC VITAMINE IN SKIM MILK POWDER. 




ANTTNEURITIC VITAMINE IIST SKIM MILK POWDER. 



















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ANTIlSrEURITIC VITAMINE IN SKIM MILK POWDER. 

Results of experimental feeding of pigeojis^ 





Food. 


Symptoms of 
polyneuritis. 


•Length 
of life. 


Termi- 
nation. 




Pigeon 
No. 


Per 

cent 
rice. 


Per 

cent 

skim 

milk 

powder. 


Sciatic nerve. 


32 


100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
100 
80 
SO 
SO 
80 

80 
80 
80 
75 

75 

75 
75 
70 
70 
70 
70 

60 
00 
60 
50 
50 
50 

40 
40 
40 







After 16 days 

After 31 days 

After 32 days 

After 24 days 

After 14 days 

After 39 days 

After 128 days.... 

After 27 days 

After 24 days 

Emaciated by 
tenth day. 


Days. 
24 
37 
48 
31 
16 
41 
130 
46 
28 
12 

7 
139 

84 
187 

99 

65 
84 
102 
102 
102 
102 

102 
102 
101 
101 
101 
101 

102 
101 
102 
S3 
83 
44 


Died.... 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Escaped 
Died.... 
Killed... 

Died.... 

...do..... 

...do 

Killed... 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

...do 

Died .... 


Extensive fatty degeneration (.Marehi). 
Do. 


33 




34 




Do 


38 




Do. 


43 




Do. 


40 




Definite fatty degeneration (Marehi) 

Do. 
Moderate fatty degeneration (Marehi). 

Do. 
Definite fatty degeneration (Marehi). 


42 
35 
36 
37 

39 


20 
20 
20 
20 

20 
20 
20 
25 

25 

25 

25 
30 
30 
30 
30 

40 
40 
40 
50 
50 
50 

60 
60 
60 
100 
100 
100 


41 


do 




47 
44 

45 

46 
48 
19 


After 81 days 

After 121 days; re- 
covery. 

Emaciated after 
60 days. 

After 57 days 

After 82 days 

None 


Definite fatty degeneration (Marehi). 
Normal. 

Moderate fatty degeneration (Marehi). 

Definite fatty degeneration (Marehi). 
Extensive fatty degeneration (Marehi). 
Normal. 


20 


do 


Do. 


21 


. ..do 


Do. 


22 
23 


After 32 days; re- 
covery. 
None 


Do. 
Do. 


24 


do 


Do. 


25 


do 


Do. 


26 


do , 


Do. 


27 


do.. . 


Do. 


28 
29 


After 32 days; re- 
covery. 


Do. 
Do. 


30 


do 


Do. 


31 


do 


Do. 


10 


do 


Do. 


11 


..do 


Do. 


12 


Questionable at 
42 days. 


Do. 



Since Cooper found that 35 c. c. of fresh milk delayed the develop- 
ment of polyneuritis only until the fiftieth day, and Gibson and 

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Concepcion found that fowls required 100-200 c. c. of fresh milk 
daily for protection, it appears that even fresh milk contains very 
little antineuritic substance. Our work shows that the amount of 



ANTINEURITTC VITAMINE IN SKIM MILK POWDER. 7 

this substance in skim milk powder is of the same order of magni- 
tude as in fresh milk, and that therefore the process of drying skim 
milk does not lead to an appreciable destruction of the vitamine in 
question. ' 

CHARTS:- 60% Rice - +0% Skim Milk Powder. 



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The feeding of rats on a purified basal ration plus milk, by Osborne 
and Mendel ^ and one of the present authors," shows that a large 
amount of milk is required to give nonnal growth to albino rats. If 



'•Jour. Biol. Chem. XXXIV, 537 (1918). 
«J-. M. Johiisou, unpublished work. 



014 487 243 5 



ANTINEURITIC VITAMINE IN SKIM MI 



we accept that the antineuritic and water-sok 

same, we would expect to find that it'requhea 

milk to prevent polyneuritis in pigeons, an assumption which is in 

accord with the facts presented in this paper. 

The pigeons weighed about 300 grams each. With a requirement of 
6 to 7 grams daily for the pigeons, a child of 4.5 k. body weight would 
require 1,125 c. c. daily of reconstructed milk in ordpr to receive an 
adec{uate amount of antineuritic substance, provided that the require- 
ments of the two species were the same. 

The charts give the picture of the weight changes of the pigeons. 
The curves are plotted upon the basis of per cent, starting with the 
initial weight as 100 per cent. 

CHARTS:- »oo % Skim Milk Powder. 



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SUMMARY. 



Pigeons fed upon mixtures of spray process skim milk powder 
with polished rice require 30 per cent of the food in skim milk powder 
in order to get full protection from polyneuritis. This corresponds 
to about 75 c. c. daily liquid milk. 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. 

The thanks of the authors are due to Dr. Carl Voegtlin, Chief of 
the Division of Pharmacology, under whose directions this work was 
carried out and who aided in many ways during the progress of the 
work. 

o 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



e 014 487 243 5 



